1/16th

Last Wednesday, we had our first set of OSCE's. OSCE stands for Objective Structured Clinical Exam. The course leader created five stations for us to rotate through, and at each station we were presented with a task we had learned during the semester. OSCE's are evaluated on a pass/fail basis - a passing grade is required in order to pass this first course, The Normal Animal. This year's stations included equine restraint/physical exam, canine restraint/physical exam, canine medical injections, bovine restraint, and Kohler illumination. 

Then on Friday, we took our final lecture exam (the fourth exam so far) and our final lab exam (the second lab exam so far). With that, we officially finished our first course of vet school and are 1/16th of the way to earning our degrees! 

It is so exhilarating to have accomplished this milestone alongside my classmates. We have learned so much these past eight weeks, including the behavior, cellular physiology, anatomy, embryology, radiology, neurobiology, cardiology, circulation and respiration, gastrointestinal system, necropsy, renal system, endocrinology, nutrition, clinical pathology, immunology, and pharmacology of the normal animal. We've also learned about the production systems of swine, equine, small ruminant, sheep, beef, dairy, poultry. In addition we've had great hands-on experience with handling and performing physical exams on dogs, equine, and bovine. I've learned so much, and our curriculum does a great job integrating information across different professors and topics, which makes studying more manageable since we can see how everything connects and applies to practice. 

My friends and I spent Saturday celebrating by hanging out with other vet students and attending a football game, where we beat UNC 59-7! Sunday was spent relaxing at home and catching up on TV shows. 

Today we started our next eight-week course, Dealing With Threats. Today's lectures began bacteriology and pathology. Our final grades for The Normal Animal also were released today, and I'm happy to say that I passed with flying colors! This has been an amazing experience, and I'm so excited to keep learning.  

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